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Transportation Planning

The Transportation Planning Division implements the City's Comprehensive Transportation Master Plan. The Division focuses on a long-term vision for Alexandria's transportation system through partnerships with State, regional, local agencies and City departments. The Division provides quality transportation planning in the City's safe and complete streets to accommodate all users, innovative parking initiatives, strategies and policies to reduce travel demand of single occupancy vehicles. The Division also coordinates with the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services' Transit Services Division to improve mobility throughout the City.

Guiding Transportation Principles

Develop innovative local and regional transit options

Provide quality pedestrian and bicycle accommodations

Provide all its citizens, regardless of age or ability, with accessibility and mobility

Increase the use of communications technology in transportation systems

Further transportation policies that enhance quality of life, support livable, urban land use and encourage neighborhood preservation in accordance with the City Council's Strategic Plan

Lead the region in promoting environmentally friendly transportation policies

Complete Streets Program

Complete Streets are streets for everyone. They are a vital part of livable, attractive communities and are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Complete Streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, bicycle to work and access buses or train stations.

Complete Streets improves the efficiency and capacity of existing roads by moving people in the same amount of space and getting more productivity out of the existing road and public transportation systems, which is vital to reducing congestion.

Complete Streets are relatively low cost, fast to implement, and high impact. By adopting a Complete Streets Policy in 2011 and reenacting it in 2014, the City of Alexandria directed transportation planners, engineers and developers to routinely design and operate the entire right of way to enable safe access for all users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. Visit the Complete Streets webpage to learn more about ongoing projects and policies.

For more information, contact Hillary Poole at 703.746.4017

Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan

As a Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly Community, the City is working to reduce dependence on automobiles. With its stakeholders, the City produced the Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan in 2008 which details recommendations for safety, mobility and connectivity improvements and ensures that future development plans serve all modes of travel. The City is currently undertaking an effort to update the Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan and Complete Streets Design Guidelineswhich, when adopted, will replace the existing pedestrian and bicycle chapters in the Transportation Master Plan and the Pedestrian & Bicycle Mobility Plan. City streets serve many functions providing citizens of all ages and degrees of mobility to walk down the sidewalk, to grab a cup of coffee, speak with their neighbors, walk their children to school or bicycle to work. Read more about the City's biking and walking initiatives here.

For more information, contact Steve Sindiong at 703.746.4047

Parking

Parking is an essential component of the City's transportation system. The City is committed to working with businesses, residents and visitors alike to meet their diverse parking needs. The City owns two parking garages that are available for public use. Additional resources consist of private parking garages, lots and curbside parking. We count on the input, support and cooperation of everyone to make our parking management programs a success. All of these resources must be managed effectively in order to provide residents and visitors with needed parking. Parking initiatives are ongoing throughout the City in all areas. There have been public/private initiatives such as the Motorcoach Parking and the Old Town Area Parking Study which reconvened through the summer of 2012 to continuing reviewing and making recommendations on parking management in the Old Town area.

For more information, contact Carrie Sanders at 703.746.4088

Multi-Use Trails

The Transportation Planning Division manages the study, design and construction of Alexandria's multi-use trail network. The City recently completed projects to improve the trail network such as the Holmes Run Trail at Chambliss Crossing and has ongoing initiatives along the Mount Vernon Trail at Abingdon Drive and the Holmes Run Trail at I395. A feasibility study to design a trail along Old Cameron Run is currently underway.

For more information, contact Hillary Poole at 703.746.4017

Transportation Demand Management (TDM)

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a broad term for a diverse series of programs and policies that seek to change how, when and where people travel. The term "demand" refers to the amount of street used during a given time period. TDM is vital because congested streets and roadways result when too many people drive the same routes at the same time, particularly during peak commute hours so it is necessary to reduce the number of solo drivers and ease congestion. Examples of TDM include teleworking, carpooling, guaranteed ride home programs, "park once" to run errands on foot, or flexible work scheduling.

Local Motion

Through the City's TDM program, Local Motion, staff is available to meet with individual employers and residential communities to give presentations, offer assistance in creating TDM plans, evaluate effectiveness of plan strategies and provide overall assistance to help reduce drive alone vehicles.

Transportation Management Plan (TMP)

The City's Transportation Management Plans (TMP) program is committed to reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. TMPs are part of the City of Alexandria's Zoning Ordinance, Article XI, Division B, Development approvals; Section 11-700 – Transportation Management Special Use Permits, which requires developments of a certain size to mitigate traffic and its related impacts with an on-site TDM program. Residential and commercial communities comply with Ordinance 11-700 using strategies and incentives to encourage walking, carpooling, vanpooling, biking, use of public transit, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, and other non-drive alone forms of transit.

For more information or to find out which communities have TMPs, contact Megan Cummings at 703.746.4085.